Fence.



'W. E. DAVIS. FENCE.

APPLICATION FILED IEB. 12, 1913 1,095,459, Patented May 5,1914.

coLullau PLANOGRAPH c0..wA:Hmn'roN, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E.DAVIS, 0F MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY.

FENCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5, 1914.

Application filed February 12, 1913. Serial No. 747,880.

To all whom it may concern .7

Be it known that LWVILLIAM E. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Morristown, in the county of Morris and State of New Jersey, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Fences; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a fence which is made up of sections, the sections being adapted to be arranged end to end so as tobuild up a fence quickly and without undue labor,

a supported end adapted to engage the free end of an adjacent section to lock the sections together.

The invention is further designed to provide a fence of this kind which can be used on level ground or which can also be used on hillside and to go over inequalities in the ground in the shape of slight rises, or to be also fitted into depressions, the fence sections having a movement vertically in relation to their posts.

My invention consists furtherin a fence of this kind which permits the free end of a fence section to be fitted transversely to another section, either adjacent to its supported end or between braces at approximately its center so that a partition fence can be attached to a line fence, either at right angles thereto or at an angle less than a right-angle, as will be understood.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side view of two fence sections connected. Fig. 2 is an enlarged end view of the supported end of a section. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a section, andFig. 4; is a reduced plan showing the manner of attaching transverse sections, for instance the attachment of fences. V 7

'Each fence sectionis supported atone end and its otherend is free, the free end being adapted to be lowered into the supported end of the adjacent section and thus support it against downward movement, transverse partition fences to line movement or longitudinal movement. Each section consists of a post the post bein adapted to belmade in b different forms,- but I prefer to make it of the studs 10, the braces 11, which are on the outside of the studs,

and the shelf 12, the shelf 12 having grooves 18 to receive the bottom ends of the-studs 10.

The studs are preferably arranged out of line transversely so as to provide a space 14 between them, this space being illustrated in Fig. 1.- Secured by pins 15 to the studs 10 are the rails 16, the rails forming a body portion and being held apart by braces 17,

the braces also being arranged out of line transversely to provide thespace 18 between them for purposes to be hereinafter described. ---The braces are secured to the rails by suitable bolts or pins 19. The free ends of the rails 16 are held apart by ai'strip 2O fastened to the rails by bolts or pins 21.

Near their'supported ends the rails are recessed-ontheirtop edges at 22, leaving the end 23, which end 23 can be fitted into the free end of the next adjacent section, since the free end of each section is recessed on its lower side as at 24, the recesses 24 receiving the ends 23, and the ends 25 being adapted to rest in the recesses 22. fastened to the studs 10 by the pins or bolts '26, and to the shelf 12 by the bolts 27.

When a section is to be attached to an adjacent section all that it is necessary to do is to lift the free ends and then lower them into the supported ends of the rails of the next section. The hooked ends, which are formed by means of the recesses, prevent the longitudinal separation of the rails of one section from the rails of the next section, and transverse movement is prevented, since the free ends of the rails rest between the studs 10 of the supported end of the next section whereby they are held against transverse movement and are kept alined, although there is enough play to permit forcing a slight change of direction of one section as compared with an adjacent one. The connections or fastening means between the rails and the studs and the braces and the strip are arranged so The braces ll are that the pivotal connection is free enough to allow the free end of the section to be raised or lowered, but this pivotal connection is not free enough to permit a free swinging I of the section on its post, as this would result in a shaky or unstable fence, and the section when it is raised or lowered must be I forced, but the pivotal connection, even if i not freely movable, permits the raising of 3 the free end or a lowering thereof. A free l end is shown raised in dotted outline in Fig. 1, showing the position the section would assume if that part of the fence was located at the foot of a hill. hen the fence assumes this position the movement at the post is slight, but when the free end of the i fence is lowered orraised, one or the other of the studs 10 rises slightly in its groove 13, but the movement is so slight that the l pivots of the studs 10 are close enough together to keep the bottom ends of bothl studs in the grooves, although one or the other of them rises somewhat to accommodate itself to the different inclinations of the fence section.

If a fence is to be used to form corners g or a partition fence, the free ends of a? right-angled section, such as at a in Fig. 4c, can be fitted in a transverse position over the rails 16 between the braces 17, beingl held against undue forward movement by reason of the strip 20 engaging the sides of l the rails of the longitudinal section. In Fig. 4 at b I show a transverse section which is so disposed that its free end rests in the recesses 22, but in a transverse direction, the free ends being seated in the space 14: between the studs 10.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is A fence consisting of sections, each section comprising a post, the post consisting of studs, braces and a shelf, the shelf being slotted to receive the bottom edges of the studs, the braces being connected to the studs and the shelf, rails pivotally connected to the studs so that the rails can be swung upward, braces secured to the rails and pivotally connected thereto, the braces being spaced apart to permit the transverse passage of rails between them, the rails being recessed on their top edges ad acent to the studs and between the studs, the rails being recessed on their bottom edges near their free ends whereby the free ends of the rails of the section are constructed to fit in the supported ends of the rails of a section, the recessed ends interlocking to prevent longitudinal movement of the sections from each other, the studs preventing transverse movement of the free ends of an adjacent section.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of February 1913.

WILLIAM E. DAVIS.

Vitnesses ANNIE E. MURPHY, EDWARD C. ADAMS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

